


All I Ever Wanted

by msalexiscriss



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Happy Ending, M/M, Mundane Alec Lightwood, Mundane Magnus Bane, Random & Short, Romance, silly stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-18
Packaged: 2018-06-06 11:15:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6751747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msalexiscriss/pseuds/msalexiscriss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. College life is good and Alec loves it. Being able to study and do what he loves the most is like a dream come true, but just like in any dream there’s this small detail that threatens to turn it all into a nightmare: Magnus Bane. Alec’s roommate and the human version of a headache. Alec hates him with all his soul, or so he likes to think. The truth is that he’s not sure about anything, but the fact that this whole situation is confusing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!! As I promised here’s a multi-chapter malec AU. This is a very short and hopefully sweet fic. I’ve had this idea in mind for some time and finally decided to explore it. For this fic I will be following the TV show dynamics so keep that in mind. I’ll still use some stuff and characters from the books, but the interaction between Magnus and Alec (plus the other characters) will be more show-like. 
> 
> Anyway, this story is different from what I’ve written so far. I usually write 4-5 scenes per chapter when I’m writing multi-chapter fics to help explain the plot and stuff, but I think that this story doesn’t need it and therefore each chapter will have just one scene (1K to 2K words). The plot is quite simple, so I hope you like it. I will be updating the tags and characters as the story progresses, I don’t want to spoil anything just yet. 
> 
> Enjoy!!

College life was good and Alec loved it, well, he loved it most of the time. He was an English major at the University of Idris, one of the most prestigious universities in New York City. People referred to it as the new Yale, and Alec couldn’t be prouder to be one of its privileged students. It was the best thing that had happened to him in a very long time and he was grateful for the opportunity he had received.

It was like a dream come true, but just like in any dream there was this small detail that threatened to turn it all into a nightmare; and that detail was Alec’s roommate: Magnus Bane—Fashion Design student, eccentric extraordinaire, and the human version of a headache.

Alec hated that guy with all his soul. He was cocky, self-centered and loud, very, very loud. There were times when Alec just wanted to throw him out the window or punch him in the face, anything to silence him.

It hadn’t always been like that, though. At first Alec had actually liked Magnus, like really, really liked him. His first impression of the guy had been that he was...well, easy on the eye, but mostly a nice person. Magnus was weird and quirky, with all his colorful clothes and bizarre makeup, but Alec couldn’t deny that despite all that, he actually liked him.

During their first week they had talked about everything and nothing. They had asked each other all sorts of questions, some of them personal, some other trivial, but all seemed to be fine between them. Well, as fine as it could be between two people who had just met and were bound to live under the same roof for months. But then, after a week or so of knowing each other, Magnus had started to flirt with Alec. Alec didn’t have a lot of experience in that field; he had just come out to his family about a year ago, so it was safe to say that he hadn’t experienced a lot of dating during high school. In fact, he hadn’t experienced it at all. So naturally, when Magnus had started to show some kind of _more-than-friends_ interest, Alec hadn't known what to do and he had found himself just trying to go with the flow and laughing at Magnus’s silly attempts to hit on him.

At first Alec had liked the attention Magnus seemed to have on him. He was always asking him questions, some of them plain stupid, some others quite personal. Magnus could go from _'how was the weather'_ to _'what was Alec’s biggest ambition'_ in the blink of an eye. Alec answered some of them, some others, he just remained silent. Alec knew that he was awkward. He had always been, that was nothing new. He loved to read and get lost in his books. He had never been much of a talker, he considered himself a solitary man, but Magnus didn’t seem to mind any of that, on the contrary, he seemed to actually like all that about Alec. Magnus seemed to understand him on a level that Alec didn’t even think it was possible. He gave him his space, he didn’t interrupt him and most importantly, he made Alec feel special.  

For a couple of days Alec felt like walking on clouds. For the first time in all his life there was a hot guy who was interested in him, and Alec liked that. He liked that very, very much. Until well, he realized who Magnus Bane really was, and everything changed.

Alec never felt uncomfortable with the flirting game Magnus was playing. He liked it. The problem was that his roommate did that with, literally, everyone on campus—boys and girls alike. Magnus Bane was the biggest flirt to ever flirt on this planet, and Alec hated him for that. He hated him for making him feel special even if it was only for a couple of days. He hated him because he was so open, and free, and extravagant. And he hated him even more because he no longer looked at Alec like he used to.

It had been two months. Two months, and what at first had seemed to be the beginning of a very good friendship now was, well, Alec didn’t even know what it was, but of one thing he was sure: they couldn't stand each other. They literally fought all the time. Day and night, they were always fighting. Magnus loved to make fun of Alec’s lack of social life, and Alec found extremely enjoyable to just make fun of Magnus in general. He criticized his appearance, his extravagant clothes, his voice, and even his personality. They simply couldn't remain silent for more than five minutes. Slurs went back and forth between them naturally, almost like breathing.

“Where’s your _oh-so_ famous roommate?” Izzy, Alec’s sister, asked.

His siblings were visiting him. They had had a day off from high school and had decided to pay Alec a visit in the dorms.

“I don’t know and I don’t care.” Alec muttered.

“Is this his?” Jace, his brother, asked, picking up a funny-looking hat with golden glitter all over it. Jace had been snooping around the room since they had returned from their tour through the campus. He had found extremely hilarious how the place was perfectly divided into two.

The room was not big, but it was spacious enough to allow each of its inhabitants to have some kind of personal space. The left side was covered from floor to ceiling with colorful posters and shiny ornaments. The right side, well, it was safe to say that it stood out for its cleanliness and order. There was a large bookshelf with thousands of books and a very well-organized desktop. It was obvious, to anyone who entered the room, that the two people sharing it were completely different. Like fire and ice, like day and night.

“Yes, it’s his. And if I were you, I wouldn’t be touching any of that. You’ll just end up covered in glitter. All his stuff is so…glittery.” Alec said, failing to find a different word to describe his roommate’s stuff.

“Evidently.” Jace said, putting the hat back where he had found it and moving on to snoop around Magnus’s other belongings.

“I want to meet him.” Izzy said, taking a seat on the edge of Alec’s bed. “I mean, he’s your sworn enemy, right? If something happens to you, it would be better if I knew who I have to punch.”

Alec laughed. “He’s harmless, Iz.” He said. “I can take care of him if he tries anything, I am taller than him.”

“Alec, no offense,” Jace said, “but you’re taller than almost everyone.”

It was true. Alec was tall, like very, very tall. His more than 6' 2’’ tall were definitely not average height.

In that moment the door of the room opened and a very dazzling Magnus walked in. He was wearing a blue shirt with glittering silver patterns. His hair had matching blue locks, and his eyes were perfectly outlined with soft touches of a sparkly dark blue eye-shadow.

“Having a little party and you didn't invite me, Alexander? How rude of you!” He exclaimed mockingly.

Alec didn’t reply and just rolled his eyes, trying to show his discomfort with the arrival of his roommate.

“I’m Alec’s sister, Isabelle Lightwood, but you can call me Izzy. Nice to meet you.” Izzy immediately said, greeting Magnus with a lot of familiarity. Not that that surprised Alec, his sister was like that all the time.

“Well, the resemblance is striking.” Magnus said. “Nice to meet you, Isabelle. I’m Magnus, Magnus Bane.” He added, greeting her by the hand.

“Can I just say something?” Izzy said. “Your eyeshadow is so on point, I love it. And that shirt...well, it really fits you. I love your outfit!” His sister exclaimed, being her usual friendly self.

“Why, thank you...I can see that you have good taste in clothing too. I love your outfit. Dressed to impress, I like that.” Magnus said.

Izzy grinned pleased with the sudden compliment and Magnus winked at her. Alec was hating this newfound relationship. Magnus was Alec’s nemesis and therefore his sister should be trying to bring him down and not to become his friend.

“And, you are?” Magnus asked, noticing Jace.

Alec could see that Jace looked seriously confused with Magnus’s personality. He had a puzzled expression on his face, as if uncertain whether the person who stood before him was real or not.  

“Jace. I’m Alec’s brother too.” Jace said, extending his hand in a polite way.

Alec saw Magnus frowning in confusion. Surely he was questioning how it was possible that a blond, blue-eyed guy could be Alec’s brother. Unlike with Isabelle, Alec and Jace looked nothing alike.

“Adoptive brother…it’s a long story.” Jace clarified.

“I see…” Magnus said, already ignoring Jace, “then, I’ll just grab my stuff and leave. I wouldn’t like to crash this lovely family reunion.” He added, quickly gathering his stuff and walking away from the room. “Nice to meet you all.” He waved goodbye.

“Remind me again, why do we hate him?” Izzy asked, as soon as the door of the room closed behind Magnus. “He seems nice, and smart...plus, he’s super hot.”

“Izzy!” Alec exclaimed almost horrified.

“What? Don’t tell me you didn’t notice it. I mean, come on, Alec! You like boys, you can’t be immune to his looks. From Jace I could understand, but from you? Don't disappoint me, big bro. You can’t be «that» blind. You have to admit that he’s hot. He’s so…” she hesitated to find the word, “mysterious. Yes, that’s it. He has this air of mystery that’s extremely sexy.”

“Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I do not find him attractive at all.” Alec said, trying to sound sure of himself. Because he was sure of himself, of course.

“Do you have his number?” Izzy asked out of the blue.

“Isabelle!” Both Jace and Alec exclaimed at the same time.

“What? He’s hot.” She smiled, feigning innocence.

“Aren’t you supposed to be dating Jace’s girlfriend’s best friend?” Alec asked.

“Clary, Alec, her name is Clary.” Jace said, rolling his eyes.

“Well, her.” Alec said. He didn’t do it on purpose, but for some reason he always forgot the name of that little red-headed thing that followed Jace everywhere. “Aren’t you supposed to be dating Clary’s best friend?” He rephrased.

“His name is Simon, Alec, and yes, we are dating, but we’re not exclusive.” Izzy said.

“Well, maybe you should tell him that and remind yourself the same thing every now and then because you two act like real boyfriend and girlfriend, like all the time.” Jace said. “You should have seen them yesterday, Alec. Clary invited us to see her art exhibition at her school and Izzy and Simon were all lovey-dovey the whole time. It was embarrassing. Clary and I, at least, showed some sort of self control, but these two?”

Izzy rolled her eyes. “Stop judging me, I’m allowed to have some fun. I like him, I’m just not sure if I want an official relationship at the moment.”

“And, why is that?” Jace and Alec asked at the same time.

“When all this became a therapeutic session, huh? I thought we were talking about Alec’s hot roommate and not my love life.”

“We can cover both topics.” Jace said.

“No, we can’t.” Alec intervened before his siblings could continue. He didn’t want to discuss his roommate's apparent hotness or whatever. “I have homework to do and actually, now that I remember, I have to go to the library to pick up some books.”

“Are you seriously asking us to leave?” Izzy asked offended.

“No, I’m just telling you that I have homework to do. You are more than welcome to stay and help me. In fact, I have to read and analyze three of Allan Poe’s masterpieces. You can each help me with one and that way I can finish earlier.”

Jace and Izzy looked at each other.

“I just remembered that we told mom we would be home early, right, Iz?” Jace said. “To help her with-with-”

“-to help her with Max.” Izzy chimed in. “We are-we are...tutoring him. He’s not doing so well at school, you know how our little brother is, he’s all day reading those manga things and he never does his homework.”

“Yeah, of course.” Alec said with a smile. “Then, let me walk you out. We don’t want you running late for your tutoring sessions with Max.”

“We would have loved to help, you know that, right? I love Poe...one of my favorites.” Jace said.

“Of course, Jace.” Alec said, trying not to laugh. “Why would I think any different? It’s not like you’re practically running to avoid helping me with some poems.”

Jace and Izzy gave him a look.

“What? I still love you. Even when you don’t want to help me.” Alec said.

“We love you too.” Izzy said, hugging him. “We’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Okay...have fun and behave, please!” Alec warned them. “I don’t want mom calling me because you screwed up again.”

“Us? Screwing up? I take that as an offense, Alec.” Jace said with a smile. “We’re the best behaved children in all New York.”

“Yes, of course, especially you, Jace.” Alec said, rolling his eyes at his brother. He couldn't even count how many times he had saved his sorry-ass in the past. There were troublemakers and then there was Jace. Alec still didn’t know how, but his brother always managed to get himself immersed in the most dangerous and random situations. “Just be careful, okay?”

“We will.” Jace said, walking out of the room.

“Bye, big bro...we’ll talk soon, okay?” Izzy said, hugging him again. “And...I wasn’t kidding. If you happen to have your roommate’s number don’t hesitate to send me a text.”

Alec rolled his eyes. “You’re impossible, Iz. Just get out of here.” He said, laughing.

“On second thought? Keep it to yourself, maybe he’s more your type than mine.”

Alec rolled his eyes and closed the door of the room, trying really hard not to smile.

“He’s not my type.” He murmured to himself. “He is not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 will be up soon ;) (probably tomorrow). Thanks for reading!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the new chapter. I really hope you like it! I would love to hear what you think of the story so far ;) I know we haven't seen much, but I think it's pretty clear what kind of relationship these two have. Anyway, I'll try to upload CH3 tomorrow. Perhaps if all goes well and life doesn't get in the way, I'll post one chapter per day...we'll see.

A couple of days later, Alec was trying to read some book while waiting for his next class. He was sitting under a tree, enjoying the amazing October weather. Autumn was his favorite season of them all and not because of Halloween as everybody might think, but because it was the best time of the year to just chill and enjoy the city in all its glory. It was not too hot, nor too cold, so you could just walk around the streets crushing leaves while enjoying all the reds and oranges that covered every corner of the big old city.

Alec was so lost in his book that he didn't even notice when a very pretty girl sat next to him. She had sun-kissed hair with bright blue eyes and a lovely smile.

“You know? People say that it’s good to read a good book every day, but you follow that advice almost to the letter. Every time I see you, you’re reading something new.” She exclaimed.

“Hi, Lydia.” Alec said with a smile.

Lydia was one of the few friends Alec had made so far. They had met during their first week and he had liked her almost immediately. She was a Law student and although they didn’t share any classes, they had clicked almost immediately. She was so much like him—organized, responsible, dedicated. It was hard to find people like that nowadays. People their age were just so stupid. They didn’t realize how lucky they were to be getting a college education, so they partied to their heart’s content without thinking too much about the consequences. _'You only live once'_ It was the excuse they used—a concept that Alec simply couldn't understand.

“What are you reading now?” She asked intrigued. “Is it for some class or something?”

“No, actually it's not. My little brother sent me this one. I used to read him at night since he was little, so I guess he thought I would like to read this book.” Alec said with a smile.

That was something he only shared with his little brother, they both loved to read. They had very different tastes, but it was only natural, Alec was almost ten years older than Max. While Alec enjoyed a good novel, Max loved everything that had to do with fantasy, magic and knights.

“It’s a fantasy story, so it's not really my cup of tea, but I couldn’t not read it. I mean, he sent it to me.” Alec explained.

Lydia picked up the book to see the cover. “Dragons?” She asked, quirking a brow.

“More like dragon riders, elves and knights in shining armor.”

Lydia laughed. “Aww, that’s so sweet.”

“It is…” Alec nodded, “and the book is actually pretty good, I’m liking it so far. I may even go get the other books, I think it’s a series.”

“Let me know if they are worth the try, but anyway...how have you been?”

“Good, and you? Where have you been these past days, huh? I sent you a text and you never replied.”

“I got a job,” Lydia shared, “I got this position as an intern in this new firm.”

“Really? That's incredible, I’m glad for you. You're going to get a lot of experience, and you know what Einstein said about it, _'the only source of knowledge is experience.'”_

Lydia laughed. “You and your random quotes, but you’re right. And so far it’s been amazing, although my boss is crazy...she's what my teachers would call a law-maniac.”

“Really?”

“Yes, you should see her… _‘the law says this, the law says that.’ ‘According to the law, it is impossible to prepare a defense under those grounds.’_ She drives me crazy. If she tells me one more time that _‘the law is hard, but it is the law,’_ I’m gonna punch her in the face.”

Alec laughed.

“But never mind my crazy, obsessed boss, tell me about you...how’s college life treating you so far?”

“Well, I can't complain, I like it. My lessons are great and I love all the stuff that I’m learning. It’s been pretty great so far, I kind of feel that-”

Alec was saying when out of nowhere Magnus and two of his friends, that girl named Camille and Ragnor or whatever, passed right beside them. They were laughing loudly and throwing leaves at each other.

“Do you mind?” Alec said, when a bunch of leaves flew in his direction and landed on top of his head.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” The guy, Ragnor, said, “we didn’t see you there.”

“Clearly.” Alec muttered bitterly.

Lydia was helping him brush the leaves off from his hair and clothes.

“Is that your girlfriend, Lightwood?” Camille asked. “I have to admit it, I didn’t think you had it in you. I’m impressed.”

“Why do you care? My life is none of your business.” Alec replied, sending her a killing look.

Alec didn’t like Camille. He didn’t like her one single bit. He had met her two or three weeks after classes had started. Magnus had taken her to their room and since then, she had been a constant presence there. Alec couldn’t care less about her, the problem was that every time she was somewhere near Alec, she tried to antagonize him. It was as if she had some sort of personal dispute with him. And that was something Alec couldn’t understand because he didn’t even know her that much.

“Let him be, Camille.” Magnus said.

“Are you seriously defending him right now?” She questioned him.

“No, I’m not. I don’t think Alexander needs someone to defend him, I'm sure he can do that on his own. I’m just simply trying to bring some peace here...why are you always trying to pick up a fight with him? Can’t we just go to where we were going and forget that this incident with the leaves happened?”

Alec saw Camille rolling her eyes.

“Fine.” She muttered, turning around as if to leave.

Alec sighed in relief, but he celebrated too soon because just when they were leaving Camille turned around and directed her venom now against Lydia. “Sweetie...if you really are dating him, then I feel sorry for you. It must be really hard to be with a man like him. I mean, he’s somehow cute and all, but he's so-”

“Camille, that’s enough!” Magnus snapped, practically dragging her with him and disappearing from view almost immediately.

“My apologies again for the leaves.” Ragnor said, making a quick bow and running to catch up with his friends who were now a long distance ahead.

“So that’s Magnus’s famous squad.” Lydia said.

Alec nodded. “They were missing a few of its members, though. It’s worse when they all are together.” Alec sighed.

Magnus’s squad was pretty exclusive. Magnus was a popular man, so naturally, everyone wanted to be his friend, but the admission to the Bane circle was quite limited. Alec had counted only seven members, plus Magnus: Tessa, Catarina, Camille, Will, Jem, Ragnor and Raphael. They always hung out together.

Alec knew a thing or two about the group thanks to his relative closeness to the _‘founding father.’_ Ragnor and Raphael were kind of a couple, or at least the acted very coupley around each other. Will and Jem were attached to the hip, but they were not really a couple, they both looked quite smitten around Tessa, who along with Catarina were the nicest of the group. Camille was, well, Camille, and Magnus…Magnus.

“Why does she hate you so much?” Lydia asked intrigued.

“I don’t have a clue,” Alec confessed, “ever since I met her she has treated me like that. I don’t know what’s her deal with me, and to be honest I don’t care, but there are days when she really gets on my nerves. I can’t stand her.”

“Well, she looks like the kind of girl who can be quite annoying. But anyway, at least Magnus defended you this time, right? I mean, if you call what he said a defense.”

Alec laughed. “He was just trying to stop his girlfriend from making a scene. That would have tainted his perfect reputation.”

“Is he really dating her?” Lydia asked.

“I guess?” Alec shrugged. “They are together like all the time.”

“I don’t like her for him.” Lydia said.

Lydia and Magnus knew each other since they were kids because their families had been friends for years. They were not close at all. In fact, Lydia barely talked about Magnus. Alec had only heard the story about them knowing each other for years because the first time Alec invited Lydia to his room Magnus had been there and he had greeted her with a lot of familiarity. Apparently, both their great-grandparents had been best friends or something.

“I’m not that close to him, but I know he’s a good man. He deserves someone better than her.”

“If you say so…” Alec said, trying to sound uninterested, “I have to go...my next class starts in five.”

“Okay...then I guess I’ll see you around some day.”

“Sure...see you around. Bye, Lydia.”

“Bye.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all thanks to all of you who have commented, know that I value each and every one of your comments, and that they make me extremely happy. Anyway, here's the new chapter. I'm kind of nervous about this story, because as I shared with all of you in the first chapter, this fic is very different from what I've written so far and I really don't know if I'm doing it right. So far it seems you're liking it, but only time will tell **sweats nervously** 
> 
> This chapter has more interaction between Alec and Magnus, and hopefully that will help all of you to better understand Magnus as a character. Since we're following Alec's POV sometimes is hard to tell what Magnus's true intentions are and why he is the way he is, but remember that Alec is oblivious to some things, and if he doesn't see them, we won't either ;) (I'm not making any sense, am I?)
> 
> Anyway, don't mind me...enjoy reading and wait for the next chapter!! It will be up tomorrow!!

With Autumn Halloween arrived and the entire campus was decorated accordingly. Carved pumpkins, fake ornamentation and ghostly lights were placed all over the halls and courtyards, creating a spooky and very festive mood.

All the students were dressed up for the party that the campus would be hosting. It was a 90’s themed party that everybody—students and teachers alike—had been expecting for months. All over the dorms and faculty buildings, students dressed as famous pop stars, members of boy bands and rockers, smiled at each other as they made their way to the gym, where the party would be taking place.

Alec was in his room reading a book while his roommate was getting ready for the occasion. Alec had avoided all the Halloween celebrations on purpose. He had never been very keen of them. Halloween was all about dressing up and going to parties, and Alec didn’t like neither, so it was definitely not his favorite holiday. In fact, if he had dressed up and/or participated in any kind of celebration in recent years, it had been because his siblings had practically forced him.

“I love Halloween!” Magnus said to no one.

Alec ignored him and pretended to keep reading his book. He had spent the last thirty minutes trying not to look at Magnus’s direction. He was getting dressed as what appeared to be some sort of rock-star and the view was very...distracting. Not because Alec liked him, or because Magnus was shirtless, of course not. Alec had already told his sister that he was immune to Magnus’s appearance, but he really was curious to see how the costume turned out in the end. He hadn’t been able to decipher it just yet.

“Aren’t you going to the party?” Magnus suddenly asked.

“Are you talking to me?” Alec asked back.

“Yes, Alexander, I’m talking to you, or do you see anyone else in here? No, right? So…?”

“No, I’m not going.” Alec said, not looking up and fixing his eyes on his book as if he were actually reading. He had only been pretending to read this whole time; the truth was that he hadn’t changed the page since Magnus had started to get ready.

“You should go, I heard it’s going to be amazing.” Magnus said.

Alec didn’t reply immediately. Magnus was now putting on a blond wig with a red bandana and Alec wasn’t sure who he was supposed to be. He had to admit that he was not very good with all the pop culture references. He was like a caveman when it came to trends among those his age. His sister, Izzy, was usually the one in charge of explaining him those kind of things.

“I don’t like to dress up.” Alec replied, once again, pretending not to look at what Magnus was doing. He seemed to be adding the final touches to his costume. He was putting on some shades and a couple of weird necklaces.

“How do I look?” Magnus asked.

Alec ignored him.

“Come on, Alexander! I’ve seen you criticizing me from afar, I just want your honest opinion. Do I look good? Do you think these necklaces are too much?”

Alec thought about it for a minute. He hadn’t been criticizing him precisely. He had only been taking a look at the costume. “I don’t know who you are supposed to be.” He said sincerely.

“What!?” Magnus exclaimed almost offended. “I’m Axl Rose.” He said.

Alec still didn’t know who that was.

“Guns n Roses? Welcome to the Jungle? Sweet Child O’ Mine? November Rain?” He questioned. “Really? Nothing? You really don’t know who he is?”

Alec shook his head.

“Good Lord, Alexander. One of these days I’ll have to introduce you to the world beyond your books.” Magnus said. “I can’t believe you don’t know who Axl Rose is...it’s like not knowing who Paul McCar-”

There was a knock on the door and Catarina, Magnus’s best friend, entered the room.

Alec noticed that she was dressed less ridiculous than Magnus, but she still looked pretty ludicrous. First, because she seemed to be dressed as a man, and second, because she had a hideous black hat above an even more hideous curly-hair wig.

“Oh, finally!” Magnus exclaimed delighted. “The Slash to my Axl has arrived.”

Catarina quickly smiled at him and hugged him tightly.

“My dear,” Magnus added, “you look absolutely exquisite.”

“Well, look who’s talking.” She said, playfully hitting Magnus’s well-formed abdomen. “You look amazing, but...was the whole shirtless thing absolutely necessary? I mean, all the eyes will be on you and not me. That’s not fair. I’m a chocolate flavored Slash, you don’t see that every day.”

“My dear,” Magnus said with a playful and silly voice, “I have to take full advantage of what God gave me.”

Catarina laughed and Alec rolled his eyes internally. He wanted to chuckle or make fun of Magnus, but he couldn’t because if he did, then he would have to admit that he had been paying close attention to their entire interaction.

“Ready to go?” Magnus asked her.

“Yes, but can we take a picture together before we go? I’m sure that by the end of the night we won’t be Axl and Slash anymore.”

“Of course!”

“Alec…” Catarina said tentatively, “could you-could you take us a picture together?” She asked kindly.

Alec wanted to say no just to make Magnus mad, but Catarina had been the one to ask and she had always, always been very nice with Alec. In fact, every time she went to their room to study or hang out with Magnus she made sure to bring food not only for themselves, but for Alec too. Alec hated to admit it, but he really liked her.

“Sure.” He said, putting his book aside and grabbing Catarina’s phone.

Magnus and Catarina immediately made a silly pose and Alec snapped the picture.

“There…” He said, handing back the phone.

“Thanks, Alec.” Catarina said.

Alec just smiled at her and picked up his book from the bed, pretending to resume his reading.

“Well, then let’s go!” Catarina exclaimed, walking out the room.

Alec, very discreetly, looked up and noticed that Magnus was still there. He was adding some last-minute golden glitter on his bare chest, clearly to try to help him highlight his abs. Alec didn’t know if he wanted to tell him how pathetic that was or lick every bit of golden out of his body. _Wait, what?_

“Well, I guess I’ll leave so you can finally finish that page.” Magnus said, turning around to face Alec. “It’s taking you forever.” He added, barely lifting his shades so that Alec could see that he was winking.

Alec felt his cheeks getting hot, but before he could act or say anything, Magnus closed the door of the room behind him. Frustrated, Alec threw the book toward the door, pretending that Magnus’s face was still there.

He hated him so much.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, here's the new chapter!! I really don't have much to say, so just enjoy and wait for the next chapter. I'll probably update in a few hours ;)

Alec was at the library. With the first weeks of November, the cold weather had arrived and although it was still not freezing cold outside, it was more comfortable to stay inside the library. Besides, Alec loved the smell of books. It helped him concentrate, and truth to be told, he «had» to concentrate. The end of the term was less than a month ahead, and Thanksgiving was just around the corner. He didn’t want to waste the entire weekend he was going to spend with his family doing homework, so he was trying to finish as many school projects as he could.

Alec was typing his essay for 'Creative Writing' when he got a text from his sister—she texted him every day just to say hi and see how Alec was doing.

I: So...I was thinking about asking Simon to come home for Thanksgiving, Jace already invited Clary. Thoughts?

A: Well, that's very formal...I thought you said he was not your official boyfriend?

I: He was not, but maybe he is now?

A: What made you change your mind?

I: I like him…

A: Yeah, I already knew that.

I: No, but I really like him. Like, like him, like him.

A: Like, like him, like him? Well, those are a lot of likes, so I suppose it’s true and you really like him.

I: …

A: I’m glad for you, Iz. I’m your brother, so I’ll always think that you can do better, but I guess that he is okay. At least he makes you happy, and if he makes you happy then he’s a keeper in my book.

I: You are the best! Jace gave me a three-hour lecture about how Simon was just too mundane for me. To be honest, I think he’s just jealous and a bit worried because now that we’re official and all, we can go on double dates with him and Clary, and since Simon is Clary’s best friend, I bet he thinks nobody is going to pay him any attention.

A: Which it’s true.

I: Of course it’s true! But for it to be funny, he doesn't need to know.

Alec laughed. He could already see the two couples on a double date. Simon, Clary and Izzy talking about some nerdy stuff that Simon just couldn't stop talking about, while Jace just sat there staring into the distance, questioning his existence, and regretting every decision he’s made so far.

A: You are crazy, but if that happens, please make sure to snap a picture of Jace’s face. I want to see that.

I: You can count on that...and, what about you? Is there a boy who has finally caught your attention? I have to meet him, big bro. I have to give my approval.

A: I’m here to study, Iz, not to find a boyfriend.

I: I know, but you could still study while having a cute boyfriend. In fact, that would make your life a lot easier. Well, actually not easier because having a boyfriend is complicated (now I’m talking from experience), but it’s a good kind of complicated.

Alec rolled his eyes although he knew his sister couldn’t even see him.

A: I’m here to study.

I: I know! I’m just saying that maybe you should try it...I don't know, open yourself a little bit. See what happens, Alec. Try going out and meeting new people. You could even ask Magnus out.

A: Why on Earth would I ask Magnus out of all people?

I: Because you like him? Just during the past week I've received 15 texts from you and in all of them Magnus is mentioned.

A: Yeah, I mentioned him because I was complaining about him. I don’t remember texting you anything that could have made you think that I like him.

I: You didn’t have to, big bro. This hate you feel for him is not natural. You like him and that’s why you think you hate him. It’s not rocket science.

A: So according to you, if I complain about a guy then it automatically means that I like him. That makes a lot of sense, Iz.

I: No, you can complain about guys all you want and that wouldn't mean you like them. The problem with this particular guy is that you can’t stop talking about him—literally. And besides, the things you complain about are stupid, Alec. Like, who makes a hissy fit because his roommate left the window slightly ajar and the room got a bit dusty, huh? Only you! Who complains because his roommate changed his hair color for the third time in a week? You! You’re just trying to find things to hate him, but you can’t...that’s your problem.

A: You know what? You know nothing about it. Of course I don’t like him and I’m not trying to hate him either. I couldn't care less about him, actually. He’s a nobody.

Alec replied. He could already feel his blood boiling. _Who did his sister think she was, huh? Some kind of psychic?_ Alec did not like Magnus. He did not like him.

I: If you say so...but for a nobody he’s pretty important to you.

Alec rolled his eyes. His sister was completely and utterly out of her mind.

A: You are wrong. Bye, Isabelle.

He texted, slamming the phone on the table. He was so angry he wanted to run and scream, but probably doing both activities within the library was not the best idea.

“Well, well, well…who made you that angry, huh? Please give me their addresses so I can send them some chocolates.” Camille, who had come out of nowhere, said.

“Not now, Camille.” Alec snapped. He was definitely not in the mood to put up with her.

“Awww poor baby Alec is really angry. Who was that? Your girlfriend? Did she finally get tired of you? I mean, I don’t blame her. I can’t imagine what dating you must feel like. You are just so...boring.”

“Look, Camille.” Alec said firmly. “I don’t know what’s your deal with me and, to be honest? I don’t care either, but if you don’t leave me alone right this second, then you’re going to find out who I really am and believe me, you are not going to like it.” He added. He knew he had raised his voice a little bit. A few pairs of curious eyes were now on them.

“Is everything alright in here?” The librarian, Mrs. Thompson, asked.

She was an old lady that Alec loved with all his heart. She was nice and always helpful.

“Yes, Mrs. Thompson. Camille was just leaving.”

Camille sent him a killing look. “I’m not afraid of you, Lightwood.”

“Good because you will be if you keep bothering me.” He said. He didn’t know where all that had come from, but he was not going to take back what he had said. He had had enough.

“Are you threatening me?”

“Alec…” Mrs. Thompson said.

“Sorry, Mrs. Thompson.” Alec said, closing his laptop and quickly gathering his stuff. “And no, Camille, I’m not threatening you, I’m warning you.” He added, walking away and not daring to look back. He had made his statement and he was dead serious about it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. I know I promised a chapter per day, but life got in the way and I couldn't update yesterday, so in order to fix that I'm adding two chapters just for today. Tomorrow we'll go back to our regular posting system :D we still have six chapters to go.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!!

Alec was at home and although they were having a very crowded Thanksgiving dinner with a lot of family and friends, he felt alone. Watching his siblings all happy with their respective significant others had left him a bit melancholic. And not because he was not happy about them, he loved to see Jace and Izzy so happy, but the whole situation made him feel excluded. First, because Alec had thought that studying and making a career was everything he had always wanted, but now that he was actually doing that, he didn't feel like he'd thought he would be feeling. For some reason he felt as if there was something missing. As if what he had at the moment just weren’t enough. And second, because every time he saw them and tried to picture himself with someone by his side the only face that popped into his mind was, well, the face of a person he’d rather not even mention.

“Why?” He muttered under his breath as he made his way to his room. He had claimed to have a terrible headache and told his parents that he would go to lay for some time before the rest of their guests arrived. But the truth was that he just needed some place to think and clear his head, and his room seemed like the right place to do so.

He didn't understand why he couldn't stop thinking about his roommate. He hated him with all his heart, so he really couldn't fathom why his brain was trying to sabotage him. It was as if some part of him were trying to boycott the oath he had taken a long ago to hate Magnus until the end of time.

“I'm just projecting,” Alec told to himself, “he is the only person of the same sex with whom I've had some sort of more than friends interaction. Yes, that's it. He comes to my mind because I don't know any better.” He said, trying to convince himself.

He knew that what he had just said was not entirely true. Magnus had been perhaps the first guy to have ever flirted with him, but he was not the only one. There was a guy in Alec's English class who seemed very friendly with him. Alec might not have much experience, but he was not stupid. He knew this guy liked him. The problem was that while this guy was cute and all, for some reason that Alec didn’t want to think too much about, he had never looked at him twice.

“Alec, can I come in?” A sweet voice said, interrupting his train of thought. It was Max, Alec’s little brother. He was poking his head through the door.

“Of course, Max. Do you need something?” Alec asked, sitting cross-legged on his bed.

Max shook his head. “No, I just wanted to...I don’t know, talk to you or something before the rest of the guests arrive.”

Alec smiled. “Then, let’s talk. By the way, I loved the book you sent me. I already bought the sequel.”

“You did?”

“Of course! I take that you have read it?”

Max nodded frantically. “Not just the sequel, but all of them!”

“Then you’ll have to wait until I get to the last book. I don’t want you to spoil me the story.”

“I won’t!” Max said excitedly. “But you have to hurry, I want to talk to you about something that happens in book three!”

“I will, Max, I promise. When I come home again for Christmas I will have read all the books.”

“Promise?”

“Promise…now tell me, what do you wanna talk about?”

“Nothing important,” Max said, “it’s just that everywhere is so crowded, and Jace and Izzy won’t let me stay where they are. I wanted to talk with Clary and Simon about manga, and show them my new comic book, but Jace said I had to wait for another day.”

Alec smiled sympathetically at his little brother. Apparently, he was not the only one who felt excluded in that house.

“I’m glad you didn’t bring your boyfriend.” Max said, exhaling with relief.

“I-I do not have a boyfriend.” Alec said, not quite understanding why his brother had assumed he had one in the first place.

“But Izzy said…”

“What did Izzy say exactly?” Alec asked alarmed. If that sister of his had been spreading lies as he supposed she had been doing, then he was going to have a very serious conversation with her first thing in the morning.

“Nothing specific, but the other day when she and Jace were helping me move some boxes, Izzy got a text and when Jace asked who it was, she said, _‘It’s Alec complaining about his boyfriend again.’_ So I thought you already had one.”

Alec rolled his eyes. “I’m gonna kill her…” He muttered under his breath.

“Was she lying?”

“Well, yes, but she did it because she was making fun of me, Max. I was complaining about my roommate and because Izzy is, well, Izzy, she probably thought it was funny to say that he was my boyfriend, but he is not and as I said, I do not have a boyfriend.”

“Why not?”

“Well, because I haven’t found someone I like that way.”

Max seemed to meditate that new information for some seconds. “So you were complaining about your roommate. Why were you complaining about him? Isn’t your roommate your friend?”

“Good Lord, no.” Alec immediately said.

“Why not?”

“Because we are very different, complete opposites.”

“You and Jace are complete opposites and you are friends. Best friends.”

“It’s different…”

“How so?”

“It just is.” Alec said. He wasn’t sure if he had the right answer for that question.

Max didn’t say anything and just asked, “do you have many friends in your new school?”

“Not really.” Alec confessed a little embarrassed. He was not very skilled at socializing. He was more like an hermit.

“Why?”

Alec sighed. That was the thing with little brothers, they asked too many questions. “Because it’s hard to have many friends when you have so much work to do. Having friends takes time and I don’t have much time.”

“But you have friends, right?” Max inquired.

“Yes, I have some friends.”

“Good, because I don’t want you to be alone.”

“I like being alone.”

“No, you don't.” Max said sure of himself. “You think you like being alone, but you don’t. I saw you before. You were watching Simon and Izzy, and you looked sad. At first I thought it was because you were missing your boyfriend, but since you don’t have one, then that can’t be the reason. I know you like Simon, I mean, you find him irritating most of the time, but you think he’s good for Iz, so it's not that you are jealous like Jace usually is. You were just longing to have what Izzy has, and that made you sad. You don't like being alone.”

Alec was a bit taken aback with Max’s ability to read him so easily. His little brother was not mistaken, Alec had actually longed for what his sister now had, and that had made him feel sad. His brother was perhaps the smartest eight year old he had ever known.

“How old are you again?” Alec asked playfully. “No, seriously, when did you get so smart?”

“I’ve always been smart.” Max said a bit offended.

“Of course...my apologies. It’s just that well, I thought no one noticed that sort of things.”

“You’re very easy to read.” Max confessed. He was looking at Alec with wise eyes and Alec felt a bit intimidated; it was as if his little brother could see far beyond his soul.

“You think?” He asked tentatively.

Max nodded.

“I guess, I’ll have to work on that.”

“Don’t…” Max said, standing up from the bed to leave, “it’s your best quality.”

“It is?”

“Yes.” Max said. He was already on his way out of the room.

“Why?” Alec asked intrigued.

“It just is.” Max said, closing the door behind him, and leaving Alec wondering what the hell all that had meant.


	6. Chapter 6

Finals week was the worst experience Alec had had in college so far. In his naivety, he had thought that with all the reading and studying he had been doing all term long he was ready for almost everything, but the truth was that he couldn't have been more wrong. His first exam had been a complete disaster, and although he was positive that at least he was going to score a C-, it was not a grade he was used to. He had always been a A+ kind of guy.

“You should be celebrating, Alexander.” Magnus said, when he entered the room they both shared. “I am officially a dead man. You’re finally going to get rid of me.” He announced.

Alec pretended, as per usual, to ignore him.

“I give you my official consent to throw a party instead of a funeral. I hate funerals, they make me sad, but after today’s exam, I’m sure I’m not going to make it. I'm a dead man. I hate Constructions Techniques.” He said, a bit crestfallen.

Alec wanted to give him a smart retort or make fun of him, but he didn’t find it in him. First, because Magnus actually looked worried about his future and second, because Alec was probably in the same mood. “I’m not doing any better.” He confessed.

“Really?” Magnus asked surprised. “But, why? I mean, you’re always studying, not that that’s a bad thing. On the contrary, you’re like the smartest man around here. You should be able to pass your exams with your eyes closed.”

Alec blushed. That had been definitely a compliment and he didn’t want to think too much about it. He had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach and that was bad...like, really, really bad. “Well, apparently, I’m not.”

“I still think you are. How many exams do you have left?” Magnus asked casually. He had just sat down cross-legged on top of his bed and he was facing Alec. He had a soft smile playing around his lips and Alec couldn't help but remember the first day they had met. They had sat in similar positions and talked for hours and hours.

“Four…”

“Ha! Five! I win!” Magnus said with a bright smile. “I'm taking an extra class.”

Alec smiled back and quickly looked away. This was the first time since their first week that they had actually had a decent conversation. Well, sort of a conversation.

“The entire campus is freaking out. I tried to go to the library, but it’s packed, I guess we all underestimated how difficult finals could be, I found two boys and five girls crying like babies on my way here.” Magnus said.

Alec didn’t know what to say, but fortunately for him Magnus seemed to sense that and just kept talking. “Once I saw this ‘ _study less, study smart’_ video of a psychology professor and I tried to put what he said into practice, but it didn’t work out the way I wanted. I guess I’ll have to try harder if I want to pass the rest of my exams.”

“I made a detailed studying plan and it didn’t work out either, so I guess that makes two of us who have to try a bit harder.”

Magnus smiled. “Maybe we could, I don’t know, maybe we could-” Magnus was saying when the door of the room swung open and a girl walked in.

It was Camille.

“There’s a door for a reason, you know?” Magnus told her.

“Don’t be like that.” She said, making herself at home. “I need your help.”

“Let me guess...you finally realized that college is not just a fashion show and that you actually have to study for a exam.” Magnus said sarcastically. Alec couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped from his lips. That had been kind of funny.

“What’s so funny, Lightwood?” Camille asked.

Alec just raised his hands in defeat, he didn’t want to start a fight with Camille right now. Ever since their encounter in the library she had kept her distance, but the hostility was still there—better not to risk it. Besides, he was not in the mood.

“And yes, darling.” She continued, ignoring Alec and focusing on Magnus again. “I need you to help me study. We have Color Theory tomorrow, so maybe we could study together?”

Alec felt Magnus's eyes on him, but he pretended not to notice and kept scanning his notes for his next exam. He knew that Magnus and Camille were both Fashion Design students, so they had almost all their classes together.

“Fine…” Magnus said with a sigh, “but you’re buying me lunch.”

Alec noticed that Magnus sounded a bit resigned.

“Yeah, whatever…so, can we start?” She asked, already picking up some books from Magnus’s limited bookshelf.

“Hmmm, we’re not studying here.” Magnus announced.

“Why not?” She questioned, and Alec looked up from his notebook. He was curious to know why too.

“Because Alexander is studying too and you two can’t be in the same room without killing each other. Let’s go to your room, I’m sure Lily won’t mind.” Magnus said.

“I can go there instead.” Alec chimed in. After all, he and Lily were good friends. They both were English majors and although at first Lily had been a bit harsh with Alec, they had eventually become friends.

“Right...I almost forgot that my idiotic roommate is friends with your bookworm.” Camille told Magnus.

Alec just ignored her and started to gather his things.

“Are you sure you want to go, Alexander?” Magnus asked.

Alec nodded. “I need some air anyway.” He said, not looking at them and just walking away. He really needed some air, with that nice brief encounter he had had with Magnus he had realized that there was one thing he couldn't keep denying: his sister had been right all along. Magnus was much more important to him than he dared to admit, even to himself.

“Damn it!” He cursed.

He was so screwed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the delay, I have some stuff going on in my life right now and sometimes it's hard for me to update. Anyway, here's yesterday and today's chapter. Thank you again for all your comments and your support, it means the world to me!!! Enjoy and thanks for reading!!
> 
> By the way, two characters from the books make an appearance in this chapter, but don't worry, there are no spoilers. If you haven't read them just think of them as two new characters ;)
> 
> Oh, and this chapter, the following, and the others until CH11 are all linked. So yeah...stuff is about to happen ;)

When the last days of finals finally arrived, Alec was completely exhausted. He had managed to score a C in his first exam, a B in his second and A’s in the rest of them, but he was worried to death about his last exam. It was, by far, his hardest class, and not because the lessons were difficult or anything, it was Text Analysis after all, but the way in which each student interpreted certain content was completely subjective, and therefore, there was no way to know if what you thought of an specific text was going to be right or not.

Alec was studying with his friends Maia and Lily, both English majors like him, for their last exam. They were at Maia’s room taking full advantage of the fact that her roommate was nowhere in sight.

“Why is this so hard?” Maia asked, skimming through the pages of some textbook. “When I signed for this I thought we were only supposed to read and write stuff, not make almost scientific analysis of some stupid poem written more than 200 years ago.”

Alec laughed. He shared her opinion. “Well, Mrs. Peters would say that _‘analyzing someone else's work is the easiest way to get a constructive opinion.’”_ Alec said, imitating their teacher’s elderly voice.

Maia rolled her eyes, and they continued reading in silence for some time until Lily broke the silence.

“Are you guys going to attend the end of term party tomorrow?” She asked.

Maia and Alec shook their heads at the same time.

“I think we should go,” Lily continued, “I mean, we have to let off some steam somehow, right? A party sounds like a good idea, it could be fun.”

“They are going to eat us alive.” Maia said. “Those parties are usually crammed with the «cool» majors, and I hate to break it to you, my friend, but we are not one of them. We are English majors, bookworms...we don't fit there.”

“Maia is right.” Alec agreed.

“I know she's right,” Lily said, “and that's exactly why I think we should go; to prove everyone wrong and to show them that we are not boring creatures as they call us. To show them that we can have fun too.”

Maia and Alec shared, yet again, another look.

“Listen, guys. It could be great. We could all go together as friends. Maia, you can be my date, and you Alec, can invite Lydia. That way, none of us will be alone and we can all have fun together.”

“Well, it doesn't sound so bad, what do you think, Alec?” Maia asked.

“I don't know…” Alec hesitated, “parties are not really my thing.”

“Neither are mine,” Lily agreed, “but it could be fun, we deserve to have some fun after all this stress. I swear this «college life» is going to kill me eventually.”

Alec meditated the idea for some seconds. “Okay, fine. But no drinking.”

“What's the fun if we don't drink?” Maia immediately complained.

“We're not legally authorized to-” Alec was saying, but Lily interrupted him.

“So? We're young, Alec. We're supposed to be reckless and stupid. I know we are not, but maybe we could be for one night?”

“Please?” Maia begged.

“Okay, you do whatever you want just don't force me to do anything I don’t want.”

“You are the best!” Lily exclaimed, giving Alec a kiss on the cheek.

“You should text Lydia and ask her to go with us.” Maia suggested.

“I will...when we finish studying.” Alec said.

“No, Alec. You should do it right now. This studying thing is going to take us hours.” Lily said, as bossy as ever.

Alec sighed and pulled out his phone, quickly texting his friend. The response arrived almost immediately.

L: Sure, sounds fun. See you guys tomorrow.

“Done.” Alec announced. “She said yes. Now, can we continue studying?”

Maia chose a poem from the endless list they had there to study and started reading out loud.

 _“How delicious is the winning, of a kiss at love’s beginning. When two mutual hearts are sighing, for the knot there’s no untying! Yet remember, ’midst our wooing, Love has bliss, but Love has ruing; Other smiles may make you fickle, tears for other charms may trickle. Love he comes, and Love he tarries, just as fate or fancy carries; Longest stays, when sorest chidden; Laughs and flies, when press’d and bidden. Bind the sea to slumber stilly,_ _bind its odour to the lily. Bind the aspen ne’er to quiver, then bind Love to last for ever. Love’s a fire that need renewal, of fresh beauty for its fuel: Love’s wing moults when caged and captured, only free, he soars enraptured. Can you keep the bee from ranging, or the ring-dove’s neck from changing? No! Nor fetter’d Love from dying, in the knot there’s no untying.” ***  
_

“So?” Maia asked.

“I don’t know…” Lily said,“for me this poem is just like some sort of masculine view of love that-”

Alec paid attention for like two seconds because in that moment realization hit him. He was going to go to a party and he didn't know what to wear. Every time he had gone to some party in the past his sister, Izzy, had been the one to tell him what to wear. And his sister wasn't there with him, and worse yet, he hadn't brought anything decent to wear for a party from home. His entire closet here consisted mostly of black jeans and his ragged collection of sweaters.

“Are you, okay?” Maia asked. “You zoomed out for a second.”

“Yes, yes, I'm fine. Please continue you were saying, Lily, that you perceived this poem as a masculine view of love?”

“Yes,” Lily said, “it’s perfectly expressed, there is no mistaking in its meaning. Campbell doesn’t hide from the truth. He expresses in every line what-”

Alec got lost in thought again and pulled out his phone. He was suddenly terrified about the upcoming party and he knew he had to ask for help.

A: S.O.S...I'm going to a party tomorrow night and I don't have anything to wear!

I: don't worry, big bro. Your sister will be there tomorrow after school to save the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***The poem is called Freedom and Love by T. Campbell. You can find it [here](http://www.bartleby.com/106/183.html).


	8. Chapter 8

Alec hadn't been more grateful for his sister as he was at that moment. As she had promised the day before, Izzy had payed Alec a visit after school and brought with her some clothes for him to dress at the party. She had showed him how to «properly stylize» his hair and had left only after she had been certain that Alec knew exactly what to do with his outfit.

So now he was getting ready in his room, thanking the gods above that his roommate was nowhere in sight. Alec was nervous enough to add Magnus to the mix. He hadn't shared with his friends yet that this would be his first college party ever, so he was a bit anxious about it. He didn't know what to do or what was the protocol, but his plan was to follow his friends everywhere and do whatever they did, well, almost everything. He wasn't going to lose his head with alcohol.

Alec put on the blue denim shirt that his sister had picked up for him, rolled up his sleeves a bit and fastened just the right amount of buttons, making sure to _‘leave the last three open’_ as Izzy had said.

Usually, he never payed attention to the way he looked. He didn't like to draw attention to himself. The more invisible he were the better, his siblings drew enough attention for all of them as it was, and Alec was used to that. He had never considered himself handsome or attractive enough, at least not in the way Jace and Izzy were. He liked to think of himself as a standard beauty. However, the image that the mirror was reflecting tonight was that of a man Alec didn't recognize. The man standing there looked good, really good, some people would even dare to use the word handsome.

Alec smiled. He liked the way he looked. He was finally hitting puberty and, well, he seemed to be doing pretty well so far.

He was smiling at the reflection in the mirror when the door of the room opened and Magnus walked in. He was all wet from a shower and Alec tried very hard not to look at the way those tiny drops of water rolled down his roommate’s neck.

“Alexander…” Magnus whispered a bit out of breath. He had clearly just noticed Alec's attire.

“Magnus.” Alec said to acknowledge him. He was trying not to over-analyze the way his roommate was looking at him, although in this case, ogling would be a more appropriate verb. Alec could see something different in the way Magnus was looking at him, there was some darkness in his eyes that he hadn't seen before.

“Are you-are you...hmmm, going somewhere?” Magnus asked.

“Yes.” Alec replied, putting aside the fact that Magnus Bane, Mr. I'm-so-sure-of-myself, had stuttered. He never did, he always expressed very loud and clear. This was definitely a first. “I'm going to the party.”

“To the party? Really?”

“Yes, why are you so surprised?” Alec asked, finally turning around to face Magnus.

“Well, because parties are not your thing.” Magnus said sincerely.

“How do you know what's my thing?” Alec asked back. He hated to be so predictable.

“Well, because we've lived under the same roof for some months and I think I know you pretty well. Actually, I happen to know for a fact that parties are definitely not your thing, darling. You've never been to one.”

“Well, maybe you don't know me as well as you think.” Alec said, picking up his phone. It had just started ringing. “Yes?” He answered it.

 _“Where are you? We're waiting for you downstairs. Hurry up, Cinderella!”_ Lily said.

“I'm on my way, is Lydia there already?”

_“Yes, we all are here. Hurry up or the carriage will turn into a pumpkin.”_

“Okay, I'll be there right away.” He said, ending the call.

He grabbed his black leather jacket—also courtesy of Izzy—and walked to the door. “I have to go, my date is waiting downstairs...I guess I'll see you later.”

Magnus smiled, but his smile didn't reach his ears. “Your date?”

“Yes, my date.” Alec said. “I'll see you later.”

“You bet you will.”

Alec didn't say anything else and just made his way out.

“And, Alec?” Magnus said when Alec was closing the door.

Alec froze in place. He was a little shocked to hear Magnus calling him Alec. He always used his full name. _Why had he called him Alec? And, why did that bother him?_ He hadn't realized that he liked the way his name sounded when Magnus said it.

“Blue is definitely your color.”

Alec smiled, took a deep breath and closed the door behind him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!! Thanks for all the comments, I haven't replied to all of them because I don't want to spoil you, but know that I've read them and they make me smile. Anyway, have fun reading this chapter...what you've been waiting for is just around the corner ;)

The party was too crowded and way too loud for Alec’s taste. People all around him were already drunk or on their way to be, and the whole place was packed with dancing bodies and/or people playing silly drinking games. The party was taking place in an abandoned warehouse two blocks away from campus. The organizers, some members from the Kappa Alpha whatever fraternity, had transformed the whole place into some sort of psychedelic nightclub, with robotic neon lights, a live DJ and tons and tons of drinks.

Alec looked around and sighed loudly. Yes, the place looked nice and very...festive, but parties were definitely not his thing. He couldn't understand how people actually enjoyed doing...well, whatever they hell they were doing. He liked other things, more mundane things...like going for long walks around the city with no particular direction, reading a good book under the shade of a tree, drinking a good cup of coffee when it was freezing cold outside, watching some shitty romantic movie when the weather forced him to stay inside. In short, he enjoyed the simple things in life.

Some people might call that kind of life boring, but for him, it was not. He liked who he was, and he was not about to change it just to fit in some kind of overrated society. He knew he was different and although being a fruit loop in a world full of cheerios was, well, hard, he was not going to change who he was. If people could not see that then he-

“We should get drunk.” Lily suddenly said, snapping Alec from his thoughts. They were at their table pretending to enjoy the party, while Maia and Lydia danced with some random guys who had approached them about an hour ago.

“Why?” Alec asked.

“So we can enjoy this.” Lily stated the obvious. “I really thought this was going to be fun, but I just can't see the appeal.”

“Me neither.” Alec confessed. At least he was not the only one.

“Maybe with some alcohol in our systems things can start to get better.”

“I don't think so.”

“It worked for Lydia and Maia.”

Alec smiled. It was true. His two friends had had some drinks and now they seemed to be having the time of their lives.

“Maybe later.” Alec said, returning his attention to where his eyes had been for the past two hours. On the dance floor, where Magnus and his friends were dancing. Alec had found almost impossible not to look at Magnus. His roommate looked simply dazzling tonight and it had nothing to do with the glitter that he loved to wear, no, he had actually toned it down a bit for this party, but Magnus was wearing an almost sinful see-through black shirt that left nothing to the imagination. His hair was perfectly stylized in asymmetric spikes and his makeup was, as per usual, on point. He looked like a freaking supermodel.

Alec sighed still observing the group. Ragnor was dancing with Raphael, Tessa with both Jem and Will, Catarina was with a boy Alec didn't recognize and Magnus was with Camille. They had been dancing all night long. She was wearing a very beautiful red dress that was drawing all the attention.

“She's such a slut.” Lily said out of the blue.

Alec found himself nodding, but thinking that maybe they weren't talking about the same person, he asked. “Who?”

“Camille.” Lily said, pointing at them. “You were looking at them, right?”

Alec got a bit nervous. He had thought he was being discreet. Apparently, he had not. “I-I…” He stuttered.

“It's fine, I don't blame you, he's cute. Not my type, but I can see the charm.” Lily said.

Alec ignored the last thing his friend said and better asked about Camille. It was not that he cared what people thought of her. If half the Campus thought she was a slut, it was not his fault, but he was curious to know why Lily had such a strong opinion about her. The two girls were roommates after all. “Why did you say she was a...slut?” He asked, whispering the last word. He felt weird saying it out loud.

“Because look at the way she's dancing around Magnus. She should show some self-respect. Like, love yourself, girl.”

“Why do you say that?”

Lily sighed. “She tried to go out with him, but he rejected her.”

“He did? I mean, I thought they were dating.” Alec said a bit confused. All this time he had thought they were a couple. A weird and not very affectionate couple, but a couple nonetheless.

Lily shook her head. “She wants to, but Magnus doesn't. Sometime during our first month sharing the room I overheard a conversation between them. They had just arrived from a party or something and they thought I was asleep, so they were not exactly discreet when they started talking. Camille asked him why he hadn't asked her out if they always had a great time together and Magnus told her that he was already interested in someone else. Ever since that day she has tried to make him change his mind, but nothing has worked.”

“And-and, do you know who he's interested in?” Alec asked, trying to sound as if he were just following the conversation and not because he was dying to know. That funny feeling in the pit of his stomach was back and in full force.

“She asked him, but he said that she already knew who he liked, so no idea who that can be.” Lily said. “It could be anyone, though. As far as I know Magnus is openly bisexual.”

Alec didn't say a word.

“You like him, don't you?” Lily asked.

“Me? Like him? No...I-I don't-I-”

“Yeah, you do.” Lily said, smiling.

Alec sighed. It made no sense to keep denying the obvious. He liked him. He liked him very much. “Maybe a little.” He confessed.

“Don't worry, you're not the only one. I heard that at least half the Campus has a crush on him.”

“Why? He's not even that handsome.” Alec said.

“Let's be honest...he is.” Lily said.

“Yeah, he is.” Alec admitted, because, well, he was. At least for him.

In that moment Lydia and Maia joined them again and asked them to dance with them. The music was at its highest and apparently Lily and Alec were the only ones who were still sitting.

“Come on, Alec!” Maia insisted. “Just one dance...pretty, please?”

Alec hesitated. He was not a dancer, in fact, he hated to dance, but he suddenly felt the need to show off. He wanted Magnus to notice him. _Why?_ He didn’t know, well, not really. He knew why, but it was better to pretend he didn’t. So he just nodded, letting himself be pulled to the dance floor and smiling along the way.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost there...we're almost there ;)
> 
> Enjoy!

When Alec finally got back to his room after the party, he was tired as he had never been before. It had turned out that dancing was actually fun and even though he hated to admit it, he had had a great time with his friends. They had danced and danced, and Alec had even forgotten about Magnus and the fact that the latter was just a couple of feet away from him dancing with Camille and probably not even noticing him. But when the night started to slip away Alec decided to call it a night, and after saying goodbye to his friends, who were going to stay for a little while longer, he went back to the dorms. He was tired and needed some sleep. He hadn't drunk a single drop of alcohol, but he still felt intoxicated with all the energy from the party. His limbs ached badly, and his head was pounding loudly.

Alec lay down on his bed without even bothering to change his clothes, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was so quiet and peaceful there compared to the chaotic sounds of the party that he could still hear a mild buzzing in his ears. His eyelids felt heavy and he would have fallen asleep if not were for the suspicious thud that suddenly broke the silence.

The sound, which had been accompanied by a groan, had come from somewhere outside the door—or at least, that was what Alec thought. So confused, he got off the bed and walked to the door to make sure that everything was okay. After all, it had sounded as if someone had stumbled on the hallway.

Alec opened the door and was quite surprised to find Magnus on the floor. First, because as far as Alec knew, his roommate was still at the party, and second, because he was completely drunk and not less than ten minutes earlier, Alec had seen him dancing with Ragnor and Raphael and he had looked sober enough. At least, he had looked sober enough to Alec.

“Magnus, are you okay?” Alec asked a bit worried. His roommate hadn’t even blinked when Alec had opened the door. He was completely unconscious.

“Magnus, get up.” He tried again, but the man didn’t even flinch.

Alec considered leaving him there and let his fellow college students to take care of him. Considering Magnus’s unconscious state, Alec was sure that he wouldn't even notice when someone duct taped him to the wall or took off all his clothes. That would certainly be a nice prank. But for some reason, he couldn’t do it. It was against who he was, so he sighed loudly and very reluctantly tried to wake him up.

“Magnus, come on. You need to help me, I can’t carry you.” He said, but Magnus was completely out.

Alec analyzed the situation for a minute. Carrying Magnus was completely out of the question, and not because Alec wasn't strong enough to do it, but because the hallway was way too small and he could hurt Magnus more than help him. The only option was, well...to drag him inside the room.

“You asked for this.” Alec said, taking both Magnus’s arms and dragging him all the way from the hall to their room—as if he were a sack of potatoes.

“Come on, Magnus! Help me out!” Alec said as soon as he closed the door of their room behind him. “I need you to open your eyes, you’re starting to worry me.”

When Magnus didn’t respond, Alec couldn’t help but think that maybe his roommate had hit his head and his lack of response wasn't because he was dead drunk, but because he had a concussion.

“Please, open your eyes.” Alec begged, softly poking Magnus. He was really starting to get worried.

“Alexander…” Magnus whispered, stirring a little.

“Oh, thank God.” Alec murmured under his breath. “Magnus, please open your eyes.”

“Alexander…” Magnus whispered again.

“Yes, I’m Alec, but please open your eyes. You fell and probably hit your head, I need to know that you’re okay.”

Magnus barely opened his eyes. “Did I die?” He asked. “Am I in heaven?”

Alec exhaled in relief. His roommate was fine, just way too drunk to speak coherently. “No, you’re not dead, Magnus. Not yet anyway.”

“I must be,” Magnus babbled, “I’m seeing an angel.”

Alec felt his cheeks getting hot, but fortunately for him, Magnus had closed his eyes again. “Stop talking nonsense and get up, please. Let me put you in bed.”

“Always so sweet…” Magnus whispered, but didn’t make the least attempt to stand up.

Alec sighed and finding no other option but to do it himslef, put his arms around Magnus’s body and carried him to his bed, dropping him heavily.

“My hero…” Magnus murmured.

Alec rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help the smile that escaped from his lips. “Go to sleep, Magnus.” He said, throwing a blanket over his roommate’s body. It wasn’t cold inside the room, but Alec had to cover that stupid see-through shirt. It was too much temptation. Not that he would dare to do more than...observe, but still, it was the right thing to do.

Magnus immediately got comfortable and began to snore. Alec sighed and changed his clothes very quickly, putting on his favorite pajamas—a pair of old pants and a ragged sweatshirt. Looking at Magnus one last time, Alec turned off the lights and got into bed.

He was about to close his eyes when Magnus stirred again and murmured, “why didn’t you dance with me, Alexander? Why?”

Alec didn’t know what to say. He knew that Magnus was completely intoxicated, but he had clearly said Alec’s name, so in the spur of the moment and knowing that Magnus probably wouldn't remember anything the next day, he said, “because you didn’t ask.”

“I’m such a fool...” Magnus babbled, snoring almost immediately.

“You are, Magnus...you are.”


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning Alec opened his eyes and wasn’t surprised to find Magnus snoring like a bear. It was still early and Alec knew he should probably just go back to sleep, but he couldn't. The few things that Magnus had said the night before were still echoing in his mind, and the truth was that he didn’t know what to think of them.

All this was confusing and Alec hated that feeling, so he stood up and walked out of the room. His head ached and his stomach was rumbling; he knew that some breakfast would help him feel better. He had to stop over-analyzing the interaction he had had with Magnus the night before and for that he needed some kind of distraction.

Alec walked to the cafeteria, and after buying himself some pancakes, sat down on one of the many empty tables. After all, the place was deserted. Not that he was expecting something different with the early hour and all.

He was almost done when two guys who had just sat at the adjoining table began to gossip about the party. Alec tried to tune out from their little conversation—they were talking about some random guy who had danced naked at some point in the middle of the party—but then they had mentioned Camille, and that had certainly piqued Alec’s interest.

“Too bad she’s taken.” One of them said.

“She’s not.” The other one replied.

“Yes, she is. She’s dating that Bane guy.”

“No, she’s not.”

“Yes, she is. I saw them kissing last night.”

Alec felt as if someone had hit him in the chest. He had been such a fool to think that Magnus might be interested in him. _Why would he be?_ Alec was boring and lame, and just not attractive enough to draw the attention of someone like Magnus.

Suddenly, he was not hungry anymore, so he left the last bites of his breakfast untouched and walked out of the cafeteria. He had to go back to his room to start packing and go home as soon as he could. The term was over and he could really use some vacation to forget about Magnus, and everything he made him feel.

When Alec reentered the room the last thing he had been expecting was to find Magnus awake. It was still very early and he had estimated that his roommate would sleep until after noon, but he had been mistaken. The man was awake and sitting on his bed, rubbing his head with his thumbs. He looked like crap.

Alec did his best to ignore him and made his way to his bookshelf to take some book. The packing plan would have to wait. He knew that due to all the turmoil of emotions he had inside, he couldn’t be in the same room as Magnus. So his best plan at the moment was to grab a book and hide in the library until Magnus was not in the room.

“Thank you.” Magnus muttered out of nowhere.

“For what?” Alec said, still ignoring him. He had his eyes fixed on his bookshelf.

“For what you did last night.”

Alec panicked, but tried to put the feeling aside. “I didn’t do anything.” He said, fidgeting with some of the books he was pretending to examine.

“Then, who put me in bed?” Magnus asked, confused.

“I don’t know,” Alec lied, “maybe your girlfriend.” He said, sounding a bit more bitter than he intended.

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Magnus said, “and I know it was you. I may not remember everything that happened last night, but there are some bits and pieces that I do remember.”

Alec tried not to panic.

“I remember getting here, to the building,” Magnus continued, “somehow wobbling my way up here and then collapsing when I tried to reach the door. I guess I hit my head with the wall because it hurts...a lot.”

Alec ignored him.

“You helped me.” Magnus said sure of himself.

Alec kept ignoring him and just grabbed the first book he found, walking to the door as fast as he could.

“Why did you do it if you hate me so much?” Magnus asked. “Why didn’t you leave me there in the hall? You could have had a good laugh this morning.”

Alec froze in place.

“Why do you hate me so much, Alec?”

“You really want to know why!?” Alec exploded.

“Please.” Magnus said.

“Because this is just a game for you! You flirt, you have fun and you don’t care about the people you hurt while doing so. You’re always making fun of me, like, literally all the time. If I do something because I did it, and if don't, then because I didn’t. You always have something to say. You can’t keep your damn opinions to yourself!”

“Alec…”

“No,” Alec snapped, “you said you wanted to know, right? Now let me finish! I’ve been bottling this for a very long time and I’m tired. I’m tired of this, I’m tired of you and your friends just making fun of me. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. You and all of them enjoy making my life miserable. Like that day when your friend Ragnor threw the leaves? I know he saw me before it happened, you all did, but pretended not to just to make fun of me.”

“Alec…”

“Don’t!” Alec snapped again. “Don’t try to justify yourself, Magnus. I know how you all are. You just go through life pretending to have fun and making people love you, but I can see through the facade. You all are a bunch of hypocrites, especially you. I’ve seen you, Magnus Bane. You flirt and make people think you’re interested in them and then you simply dispose of them. You make them believe they are special to later crush their hopes. You use them, like you did with me! I may be inexperienced, but I knew you were flirting with me. I thought you were interested, but you never were. You just played with me. You’re like that with everyone and I hate you for that. I hate you because you made me believe that I was interesting and special, and even attractive and-”

Alec didn’t finish what he was saying, because next thing he knew Magnus was kissing him, and what was worse, he was kissing him back. Awkwardly and inexpertly, but Alec was kissing him back, and he wanted to keep doing that until the day he died because it was perfect. Kissing Magnus was the definition of perfection.

“You, stupid boy.” Magnus said, pulling back just a bit to look into Alec’s eyes. “Of course you’re special and attractive and interesting. You’re the single most interesting man I’ve ever met and, yes, I flirted with you, but I did it not because I like playing games, but because I was interested in you. You put a spell on me the moment you crossed that damn door. You and your stupid books captivated me and for some days I thought you liked me too. That’s why I flirted with you, but then one day you just started being rude to me and I stopped because I thought you were not interested. And yes, arguing with you was the only way to get your attention. Whenever I was a bit nice to you, you ignored me, so I realized that by yelling at you and making you mad I got your attention. All this time I’ve just wanted you to notice be because I like you, you idiot.”

“You-you like me?” Alec asked, confused. He was still a bit dazed with the kiss.

“Of course I like you, why else do you think Camille hates you so much? She knows, everyone knows. My friends...what they did to you was just because they were trying to help. They were trying to make you notice me. They are stupid, I know. I have no excuse for their behavior, but they thought they were helping. Ragnor, Raphael, Catarina, Tessa...they all knew I liked you.”

“If that's true, then, why did you kiss Camille last night?” Alec asked. “I heard some people talking about it.”

“I didn’t kiss her, she kissed me, but I pushed her, I swear.” Magnus said. “I saw you leaving the party and I had been trying to get some courage to ask you to dance with me. I knew you hated me, so I was very reluctant to ask, but when I finally made up my mind, you were on your way out, so I panicked and tried to rush after you, but she stopped me.”

“With a kiss?”

“Yes, she kissed me right in front of everyone. I got mad at her and I don’t think we’re friends anymore because we said some nasty stuff. It was quite the scene, but I don’t really care. Then I followed you, but I had had one too many drinks and, with the cold air and everything, I kind of started to feel very, very drunk and everything’s just fuzzy from there. I’m sorry if I made you feel like I was playing with you. That was never my intention, I just wanted you to notice me and like me.”

“I like you.” Alec confessed.

That had been the issue all these months, because Alec had liked Magnus since day one and, although he had tried to bury those feelings with his alleged dispute against him, the truth was that he liked him, he liked him very much.

“You do?”

Alec nodded. “I liked you from the first time I saw you. I-I...no one had ever flirted with me the way you did, so I didn’t know how to act around you, that’s why I only laughed and blushed when you spoke to me. But then I saw you with that boy Will, and you were acting with him like you did with me, so I got mad. That hurt my pride and that's why I started to ignore you and-”

“Will is just my friend...if you ever saw me close to him in that way was because I was actually teaching him how to do it. He, Jem, and Tessa have some very weird love triangle going on between them. I was giving him some pointers.”

“So, you actually like me?”

“Yes, Alexander. I like you...I like you very much. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“Just one more time.”

“I like you.”

Alec smiled and leaned in for another kiss. They were in the middle of a more passionate encounter, when the door flew open and a woman walked in.

“Catarina, knock the damn door.” Magnus said, rolling his eyes in exasperation, but the woman who stood there didn’t look like Catarina. “Oh. You’re not Catarina.” He said, looking at the newcomer.

“I’m not.”

“Lily…” Alec said out of breath. His friend was wearing the biggest of the smiles on her face.

“I came here to share some stuff that happened last night at the party after you left, but I guess I don't need to do that anymore.” Lily said, giving them some playful look. Alec could feel his cheeks reddening at the speed of light. “So I’ll just go. Please do continue, and pretend I wasn’t here.” She said, quickly closing the door behind her.

Magnus walked toward the door and locked it. “Where were we?”

“We were-”

“Oh, yes.” Magnus said, getting closer and capturing Alec’s lips. “I remember.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it happened...It was about damn time, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. I'll finish this story tomorrow, so wait for the last chapter. It's going to be as long as the first one (3K words) so I hope you like it. 
> 
> See you tomorrow!!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I promised to post this yesterday but stuff happened. Anyway, here's the last chapter of this story. I really hope you like it. Please read the notes at the end.

Alec was a bundle of nerves. His family was going to throw a big New Year’s party at their home and Alec had invited his boyfriend. _Boyfriend!_ That was still such a surreal term for him. He had been officially dating Magnus for three weeks now, but he felt as if it had been more. His parents were still getting used to the idea of him having a boyfriend, and he knew they were not very happy about it, but he couldn’t care less, he was happy and that was all that mattered.

If anyone had told Alec a few years ago that he would be dating a cute, sexy, and funny man like Magnus, he would have laughed in their faces. Those things just didn’t happen to him. But there he was, waiting for his knight in shining armor to arrive. A knight who, incidentally, was late. It was already 7:30 p.m. and Magnus was nowhere to be seen. He was officially half an hour late.

“What are you doing here?” Someone asked, making Alec to jump scared.

It was Izzy, his sister. “God! You scared me, Iz.”

“Sorry...are you okay?” She asked.

Alec was pacing around the hallway, fidgeting with his hands, and constantly looking at his phone.

“Magnus is late.” He said as a matter of explanation.

“Men are always late, get used to that.”

“What if he doesn’t come?”

“If he told you that he was coming, then he must be on his way. Don’t worry, okay? He must be stuck in traffic or something.”

Alec nodded, but he couldn’t stop worrying, so he began to pace again until his sister stopped him.

“Alec, relax.” Izzy said.

“I can’t,” Alec confessed, “maybe you’re used to this, but I’m new to this whole dating thing. What if inviting him home was a mistake? We’ve only been dating for a few weeks and I’m already going to introduce him to our parents, who by the way, are not very happy with the news of our relationship. What if they are not nice to him? What if they make him feel uncomfortable? What if-”

“Hey, hey stop, okay? Everything is going to be fine. Our parents aren’t going to treat him badly. First, because they are not bad people, and second, because there are too many guests in here already. I can assure you that they won’t make a scene.” Izzy said. “Also, Magnus is super charming, I’m sure that by the end of the night they are going to love him.”

Alec rolled his eyes. Yeah, his boyfriend was charming and all, but he wasn’t sure if his parents were going to be very happy with the whole eccentric extraordinaire persona that his boyfriend displayed.

“No, really, big bro.” Izzy said. “Just relax, okay? Take deep breaths, I’m sure he will be here any minute now.”

Alec nodded and followed his sister’s advice, letting in some fresh air into his lungs.

“You really like him, don’t you?” Izzy inquired.

Alec limited himself to nod.

“Can I say that I call it out the day I met him? I knew you didn’t hate him as you said you did. I knew you were just confused because he made you feel things.”

Alec rolled his eyes. “He was an ass…” he said in self-defense, “he taunted me for months.”

“But didn’t you say he did it to get your attention?” Izzy said, with a playful smile. “He succeeded, right? He got under your skin anyway.”

Alec just chuckled.

“And to think that you two could have saved yourselves months of unsatisfied sexual tension if you had just sat down to talk.”

“It was not-”

“What? Sexual tension? Of course it was. You two were drawn together like magnets, the caring about each other part happened later, I’m guessing some weeks after or so. But you can’t deny that you wanted to rip his clothes off and kiss him passionately the first time you saw him.”

Alec rolled his eyes and quickly turned around to hide his flushed cheeks.

“What? It’s true, I mean you’re not made of ice Alec and your boyfriend is one-”

In that moment the doorbell rang, interrupting whatever Izzy was going to say.

“It must be him.” Alec whispered, already out of breath. The wave of nervousness that he had been feeling hit him again but with more force.

“Then go welcome your man, I’m gonna go see why they stopped the music.” Izzy said, winking at him and disappearing from view.

Alec took a deep breath and walked to the door. His hands were shaking, but he managed to grab the doorknob and open the door.

Magnus was awkwardly standing there. As per usual, he was dressed like a freaking supermodel and Alec’s pulse quickened. His boyfriend looked amazing. He was wearing a pair of the tightest black jeans that Alec had ever seen and a red shirt with shiny golden stripes. The dyed locks of his hair matched perfectly as well as his makeup. He was like a true piece of art.

“Hi.” Magnus whispered, smiling at Alec.

“Hi.” Alec replied shyly. For him, it was still so weird the way their dynamics had changed. The playful edge of their relationship was still there, but they acted coyly around each other, like two teenagers in love.

“Sorry I’m late, I went to this store to buy something and the lady wasn’t very helpful. She took forever.”

“A store? What for?” Alec questioned. His boyfriend was, in fact, carrying a paper bag. “I told you you didn’t have to bring anything.”

“Oh, but I did, Alexander.” Magnus said, climbing the two steps that separated them and placing a soft kiss on Alec’s cheek. “Just don’t ask what it is.”

Alec frowned, not because he wanted to know what Magnus had brought, but because his boyfriend had kissed him on the cheek—on the damn cheek.

“What’s wrong?” Magnus asked, clearly sensing the shift in Alec’s mood.

“Why did you kiss me on the cheek?”

“Because we are at your parents' house? I don’t want to make a bad first impression.”

Alec couldn’t care less what impression his parents might get. He hadn’t invited Magnus for that. He had invited him because he wanted to be with him the last day of the year, and he wanted a kiss—a real kiss. “But I want you to kiss me.”

“Always so bossy!” Magnus teased. “But if you insist…” he leaned over, “I guess I can indulge.” He added, giving Alec a proper hello kiss. “By the way, you look absolutely ravishing.” Magnus whispered. “Have I told you that blue is definitely your color?”

Alec nodded. He had actually picked the dark blue shirt he was wearing for that very reason. “You-you look good too, I mean, amazing.” He said all nervous. Magnus’s kisses still had that effect on him. They made him feel as if he were spinning out of control.

“Well, thanks for that. I tried my best.”

“Come in.” Alec said, guiding his boyfriend into the house.

Magnus was looking around, trying to take in all his surroundings and Alec was just so happy, nervous, and excited to have him there that he had trouble speaking. “You can-you can hmmm, leave your-your coat here and-and-”

“Relax…” Magnus said, grabbing Alec’s hands. “It’s fine, I sense you’re nervous, I’m nervous too. This is my first time meeting someone’s parents.”

“Really?” Alec asked, and Magnus just nodded. “They are not that bad once you get to know them. They are still getting used to the idea of having a gay son, but they are nice. I promise.”

“I’m sure they are.” Magnus said, reaching for a soft kiss. Alec quickly tried to deepen the kiss. He had discovered three weeks ago that kissing Magnus was like a drug and he was already addicted.

“Ahem.” Someone cleared its throat. It was Isabelle, she was back and smiling at them with a playful look. “Are you guys joining us or, what? We have food and drinks, and Simon is about to sing us some songs.”

Alec sighed loudly with that last part. He still cursed the day his sister had decided to date a wannabe musician.

“Is he that bad?” Magnus inquired.

“He’s an amazing performer.” Izzy said, already defending her boyfriend. “My brother here just seems to lack a good taste in music.”

Magnus laughed.

“Are you on her side or mine?” Alec questioned offended.

“Yours, darling, of course yours, but considering that you didn’t know who Axl Rose was, I can’t help but think that perhaps she’s partially right.” Magnus said.

Alec rolled his eyes and pushed Magnus playfully.

“But don’t worry, you have me here to instruct you.” Magnus quickly added. “Now, can we join the celebration?”

Alec nodded and with a smile, he walked with his boyfriend and sister to the party.

The place was packed. Friends, neighbors and relatives were all there. Alec spotted his parents at the far end of the room, they seemed to be lecturing Max about something.

“Mom, dad…” he said, trying to control his nerves, “this is hmmm, Magnus, my-my boyfriend. Magnus these are my parents, Robert and Maryse Lightwood.”

Maryse and Robert looked a little uncomfortable, but showing their manners, they politely greeted Magnus.

“Nice to meet you.” Maryse said.

“Likewise, ma’am.”

“Welcome to the party, Magnus.” Robert said. “We hope you have a great time.”

“Thank you, sir.” Magnus replied politely. Alec had never seen him so nervous before and it was all kinds of adorable.

“We have to go check some details, but you guys have fun, okay?” Robert added, grabbing his wife’s arm and walking away.

“That wasn't so bad.” Alec whispered relieved.

“It was not.” Magnus said with a smile.

Alec smiled and grabbed Magnus hand, lacing their fingers immediately.

“Hi, there.” Magnus added, greeting Max.

Alec’s brother had been staring at him, clearly delighted with all the glitter.

“I like your hair.” Max said. “I’m Max, Alec’s brother.”

“Magnus.” Magnus said, extending his free hand to the boy. “Your brother talks a lot about you.”

“Really?”

“Yes...and he mentioned that you like manga?” Magnus inquired.

Max immediately nodded enthusiastically. Alec didn’t know what was going on, but he liked the way Magnus was treating his little brother and how Max seemed to genuinely accept him. The fact that his siblings approved his new relationship was too important to him.

“Well, I brought something for you.” Magnus said, finally revealing for whom was the paper bag he had been carrying around.

Max opened it and immediately started to squeal at the sight of a brand new edition of his favorite comic book series.

“Alexander said it was your favorite.” Magnus continued.

Max didn’t reply and just leaned in to give Magnus a quick hug. “Thank you!” He said excitedly. “I’ve been waiting for this one for so long.”

“That’s what I heard.”

“Do you want to see my collection?” Max asked hopefully.

Alec knew that Max was so used to people telling him no that he probably wasn’t expecting a yes from Magnus. Adults tended to ignore him.

“Of course,” Magnus said, “sorry, Alexander,” he added, gently squeezing Alec’s hand, “but this young man demands my attention and you know I can’t say no. I find the Lightwoods simply irresistible.”

Alec just smiled because, _what else could he do?_ He was so happy at that moment he feared his heart might explode.

Max immediately took Magnus to one side of the room where a trunk with lots of comics stacked inside was resting. Alec knew his brother carried or better said, dragged that trunk everywhere.

Alec stayed where he was just looking at them and smiling like a fool until his other siblings approached him.

“He won Max already?” Jace asked, puzzled. He was eyeing Magnus with some sort of apprehension.

Alec nodded.

“Well, he moved fast. It took Clary and Simon a couple of days.” Jace added bitterly.

“Jealous much?” Izzy questioned.

“Why would I be jealous, huh?” Jace asked, rolling his eyes dramatically. “Besides, he cheated...he brought him one of those comics he loves. He’s buying his affections.”

“That’s not cheating,” Izzy immediately fought back, “that’s called being smart. Besides, wasn’t your girlfriend the one who helped Max learn how to read those things?”

Jace remained silent.

“Better admit that you’re jealous.” Izzy continued, smiling playfully at Jace. “You’re still jealous of Simon and we’ve been dating for months.” Their brother was shaking his head and rolling his eyes like trying to dismiss her comments, but they knew better. If Jace was bad at something was at lying.

“I’m not jealous of anyone, but you think whatever you want. I’m gonna get some drinks.” He said, disappearing behind the mass of bodies cramming the party.

“He’s jealous.” Alec said, the moment he knew Jace couldn’t hear him.

“He so is.” Izzy agreed, and Alec burst into laughter along with his sister.

“I love to see you smiling and laughing like that.” She added. “You’re always so serious.”

“It’s hard for me, you know?” Alec confessed. “I’ve never experienced anything like this. All my life I thought that protecting you all, making our parents proud and getting a college degree was what I wanted, but I was wrong. All I ever wanted was to feel like this, Iz. To know that there’s someone by my side who thinks I’m good enough, who sees me and likes me for who I am, who protects me, who is proud of me…”

“In short, someone like Magnus.” Izzy said, and Alec just nodded. “I’m happy for you, big bro. You deserve to be happy.”

Alec smiled again. Lately that was apparently the only thing he could do—smile.

Max and Magnus joined them again. Max looked so happy and proud of himself that Alec’s heart filled with joy.

“I have to show Clary and Simon my new comic!” He exclaimed excitedly.

“I’ll go with you.” Izzy immediately said. “The show is about to start so don’t you dare to sneak out to do some naughty stuff, eh? I want to see you both there.”

“We will be there, darling.” Magnus said.

Max and Izzy disappeared from view, giving them some privacy.

“What?” Magnus asked.

Alec had been looking at him with a goofy smile on his face. “Nothing...I’m just happy to have you here.”

“Well, I’m happy to be here, so thank you for having me.” Magnus said, smiling shyly. Alec had been shocked to discover that he had that power over Magnus. He could turn him into an awkward man with just a simple smile.

“Are you ready for this new year?” Magnus asked.

Alec nodded. He was so ready, like he had never been before.

“We should probably start to write down all our resolutions.”

“I don’t need to.” Alec confessed. “I already have what I want. I have my family, I’m doing great in school, and I have you. I don’t need anything else.”

“Oh, Alexander.” Magnus said, lacing his arms around Alec’s waist. “You really, really know your way to my heart.” He confessed. “And because of that there’s something I need to tell you before this year ends.”

Alec frowned confused. Magnus looked serious and nervous all of a sudden.

“Please don’t freak out, okay? But I think it’s fair that you know.” Magnus said.

“If you don’t want me to freak out then start talking because that’s exactly what’s happening. You’re scaring me.”

“It’s nothing bad, I promise.” Magnus said, but he didn’t seem convinced. “It’s just that, well, it’s just that...I love you. There, I said it. I’ve probably loved you since our first week sharing the room. I know we’ve only been dating for three weeks, six hours and thirteen minutes, but for me it feels like way more, and I know that this probably freaks you out and you think I’m some kind of weirdo because it’s too soon to say those words, but it’s what I feel and-”

“Hey, hey, stop...it’s fine.” Alec said, grabbing Magnus’s hands. “I love you too.” He added, completely taking Magnus and himself by surprise.

“You do?”

Alec nodded, leaning down to kiss his boyfriend. “Of course I do, how could I not? You got under my skin a long time ago.”

Magnus smiled the most beautiful of the smiles. “It’s going to be such a great year. Can you see it? We're going to be together, I’ll finally be able to decorate your side of the room, we’re-”

“No, no, no, no, no. The room is going to stay the way we have it right now. We’re not going to cover all the walls with those shiny ornaments you happen to love.”

“But-” Magnus said, making some puppy eyes.

“Don’t even try it, you’re not going to make me change my mind, I’m telling you.”

“We’ll see…” Magnus said, being his cocky confident self, “I've discovered a few things about you in the past weeks that I can certainly use in my favor.”

“Is that so?” Alec asked not so surprised. He had discovered things about Magnus too that he didn’t know before.

“Yes, Alexander, so we will revisit this conversation and probably fight about it in the near future.”

“Fight about it?”

“Of course, darling, I’m planning on driving you crazy in any way I can.”

Alec laughed because little did Magnus know that he already did. “You’re impossible, did you know that?”

Magnus nodded. “But you love me.”

“I do.” Alec said with confidence, because there was nothing truer than that. He loved that man with all his heart.

“Then,” Magnus said, getting closer to him and barely brushing his lips against Alec’s, “everything will be fine. I’ll try to make you change your mind and you won’t. Then I’ll try it again and you’ll finally say yes.”

Alec rolled his eyes and pulled Magnus closer to tease him the same way he seemed to be doing. “Or, you will try to make me change my mind and I’ll just kick you out of the room.”

“You wouldn't dare...you’d miss me.”

“I could always get a new cute roommate.” Alec teased.

“Don’t even think about it! You’re stuck with me forever.” Magnus complained.

Alec smiled. “Well, I guess I can live with that.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

“You always have to have the last word, don’t you?” Magnus quipped.

Alec nodded, capturing Magnus’s lips and kissing him properly, pouring into that kiss all the love he had. Because even when this man drove him crazy, he loved him. He loved him as he had never loved anyone.

It was curious how life had a way of putting the right people in your life. When Alec had met Magnus, he hadn’t expected to find his missing half on him, his perfect complement. But it had turned out that his odd, quirky, and quite annoying roommate had been it for him. And now that they were together, Alec intended it to last forever.

“Always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all thanks for reading this story and commenting. I read and smiled with each and every one of your reviews, comments or private messages, so thank you. You guys really made writing my first multi-chapter Malec fic an amazing experience and that's why I have decided to continue doing it—I'm already writing my summer multi-chapter Malec fic. 
> 
> In other news, one of you approached me via [tumblr](http://msalexiscriss.tumblr.com/ask) to ask me if I could write a Magnus's POV version of this story, and although the idea sounds tempting I think that in doing so I would be detracting from the essence of this story. An important part of what I wanted to achieve with this fic was that we learned to know Magnus through Alec's eyes. However, because I love you all so much, I've decided to write a one shot from Magnus's POV and post it as a complementary story. Just let me know which chapter you'd like to see through Magnus's eyes and consider it done. You can write your choice in the comments section, send me a private message or contact me via [tumblr](http://msalexiscriss.tumblr.com/ask). I'll see which one gets more requests and write it as soon as I can ;) 
> 
> Anyway, thanks again for reading and sticking around. I love you all so much!! 
> 
> PS: You can find a rebloggable version of this story [here](http://msalexiscriss.tumblr.com/post/143868472117/summary-au-college-life-is-good-and-alec-loves).


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